History When did body panel-door gaps become an issue?

I'm working on a 57 f100 and am attempting bodywork. This truck is in great shape actually.
But, I can't tell you how many "advisors" assume that I'm gonna gap the doors with a paint stick. Build up or shave the edges as needed.
Not gonna be a show truck or a custom, just a nice driver with an old rod flavor, maybe even scallops.

When did nice "dailys" get their doors gapped? Am I missing something?

It's my intention to do go work, but....

EDIT- got rid of the scallop pic. Trying to stay on the door gap question

 

In the $$$$ 80's. And now of course computer-built cars are all over perfect gaps. Don't sweat it, gapped trucks are poofy.



I won't be gettin' mental with my 50's sedan. Just as long as they ain't fugly. Yours look OK- cool truck.

 

It's largely from the car shows on TV and the posers that learned a new word. I'll bet every one of your "advisers" has a nice old vehicle with gapped doors, right?

 

Spoggie and Crusty Nut, appreciate the input. Kinda what I was thinking.
If it were 1960 and a guy was fixing up his truck, would he give two shitz about the gaps?
I think not.

 

Thanks. My old car has gaps all over the place, they kinda came that way, more or less. I heard the good ones were set aside for black paint/ bigtime customers.
Mine ain't one of those. The gaps ain't too bad, but there are panels off 3 or 4 cars on it. I'll jack it/shim it- the key for such low-buck things is to try to hold a parallel negative space on each line, as well as you can. If the trailing/ leading/ top/ bottom has a differing space, so be it, as long as it ain't gross & works well. Each of my 4 doors will be a lil different, I guess. The hood is a biggie on my model. Lot of trial & error in my case.

 

It started with the Gap Band.

 

door gaps became an issue when people began wanting to do quality work. if good enough is good enough for you then so be it.

 

I agree. Never understood why gaps became so important to people. I Never gave two shits about them as long as they were even from the top to the bottom of the gap.

 

Door gaps became an issue when a car company made a commercial with a ball bearing rolling over their gaps and the said it was a sign of quality. That is when the average person started to look at it. Before that a few guys with higher end shops would fuss with them on a restoration and make gaps perfect. I feel that most new cars by the late 60's had doors that should gap nicely with minimal care. Before that there was more of an acceptable tolerance range for gaps. I have seen some original 50's cars that had some poor panel fitment.

 

"When did body panel-door gaps become an issue?"
Only when uneven thick to thin or hitting the fender or body. Take a look at unrestored original cars for example very few if any were perfect. While impressive, cars with paint stick margins and no panel dive tend to look sterile sometimes and have no noticeable effect visually when driving down the street and used as cars.

 

About the same time the term "over restored" came into use.
As far as the comment about caring about quality,a quick look through the little car magazines of the '50's will reveal many vehicles have quality issues.The very best show cars may have had the time spent for perfection but the common man cars that make up 98% of the content appear to be good enough for the owners.

 

The first I heard of it was probably 25 or so years ago when I had the pleasure of visiting a restoration shop that was doing a 34 Packard headed to Pebble Beach.
There was no "that's good enough" attitude in that shop, the attention to detail on those cars is inspiring to say the least and my visit there really taught me how to "look" at a car.

 

Agreed.

I generally don't attempt to exceed the original quality that the manufacturer expected at the time. If I do, it becomes a "custom" (not a bad thing)
Gapping doors by shimming and finagling seems like good work. Trimming and welding seems excessive.

In '57, a truck was not a lot more than a work tool. More likely it goes to, "the beach" than Pebble beach.

Thanks all for the interesting perspectives. Keep 'em coming...

 

Had to respond. Don't really know what to say though.

 

I think it started right about the same time as clocking screw heads.

 

For a driver just get the doors adjusted as nicely as you can. Make sure nothing hits and go with it. All those built up edges are prone to chipping under daily use unless they were done right and built up with metal and NOT mud.

 

"Perfection is the enemy of completion."

 

In the 80's the rice rockets came on strong. At the car factory 1/8 was good on our tooling. The robots could get things tighter. Now the robots are in all the car factories.

 

Many of my "advisors" seem guilty of this. Hmmm

 

I guess I'm the oddball in this thread. When I see a car with bad gaps I feel that either it was wrecked in the past or the builder didn't care enough to fix them. If it had bad gaps from the factory I think of poor quality-control--- which now makes me think of OEM fiberglass hoods which never seem to line up properly. Maybe I'm a gap snob and never realized it until now?

 

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I can believe that.


A Massachusetts furniture company did a goof on that in a TV ad, trying to roll a ball bearing on a big fancy comfy couch. They used to have some pretty clever ads. Warren Buffet has since bought the company.

 

First time I saw that was a fat Jack built 53 ford truck in Hot Rod in the 80's. It was yellow and built like a Coddington Street Rod with no trim. On that build, the door gaps were the only line you saw in the Yellow, and would have been noticeable of they weren't perfect. On cars with chrome trim, a dark color or scallops like the OP, I don't think you even see the gaps. It is critical for a good looking ride that the body lines line up though, and worth adjusting if they don't.


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Not critical, but I'll be doing mine on my truck. Paint stick, maybe not, but just getting them all the same. They're pretty wonky as of right now

 

I was thinking it started with the Corvete crowd and the over-restoring standards of the NCRS.

Then I found this photo.

 

IMO, if your building a "SHOW" truck or car competing on professional level, gaps matters, like sooo... Many Details, drivers not so much. Free advice, EJOY the hobby and the people involved, that is the Fun part, Again IMO.

 

OK, so putting paint-stick or Vernier caliper perfection aside, if you're assembling a car and the gaps look uneven from 10 feet away, you guys are saying to leave them that way?

 

Man I really hate scallops. I just wanted to say that.

I think that scallops became an issue when everyone began to think that even they could build a Ridler quality car. Its a fucking high zoot street rodder thing. Just build it and drive it.

 

Jeez Beaner, I apologized for the scallops...

 

LOL I don't have scallops (or fire) painted on my F100, and door gaps are not perfect.
Both doors are 'forward' (1/8", so the trailing edges are 1/4" wide) This is a rust free example that was assembled in '55, doors work smoothly...bugs me a little to see the gaposis, but when I get around to paint, they'll be shimmed at the hinges.
But, as @irant reminds us, "IT'S A TRUCK!" So, show it or drive it.
Just lose the scallops. I won't flame mine. Who'd want a 'Fire Truck'?